Bioco sold a patent on a new laser process to Agent Co. The sales agreement which was signed on
January 1, 2011 requires Agent Co. to pay Bioco $2 million immediately. In addition, Agent is
required to pay 500,000 each December 31 for 20 years starting with December 31, 2011. Agent and
Bioco estimate that 12 percent is an appropriate interest rate for this arrangement.
Required:
Compute the present value of the receivable on Bioco’s books on January 1, 2011
immediately after receiving the $1 million down payment.
Compute the present value of the receivable on Biotech’s books on December 31,
2011.
Compute the present value of the receivable on Biotech’s books on December 31,
2012.
3. Buchaneer Co., a waste collection company, estimates that its landfill will be in operation for five
years and will cost $300 million to build, with generation of $900 million in revenues during its useful
life. According to Federal Law, Buchaneer must decommission and decontaminate the site at the end
of its useful life. Based on estimates by its engineers, Buchaneer will have to spend $20 million on
this process when the landfill is finally shut down in five years. Buchaneer’s credit adjusted rate of
interest is 10%. (Hint: Use PV factors to estimate fair value of this ARO.)
Required:
1. In accounting for asset retirement obligations, how should Buchaneer account for the costs
associated with this decommisioning process according to U.S. GAAP? Show journal entries and
prepare an amortization table.
2. How should these costs be reported on the income statement and how does this treatment improve
the matching process?